Regrets of The Fallen (Victis Honor Book 1) (28 page)

“Not usually,” Freya spoke up from behind them, grinning. “But th’
Black Wake’s
a special ship. She’s got all kinds a things that make ‘er special, an’ this is one of ‘em. Those zombies ain’t gonna be a problem for ‘er.”

Isabella looked back at her, wide-eyed. “This is amazing. I’ve never flown before! Well, I mean, not
intentionally
.”

Haruka raised an eyebrow. “You’ve flown
un
intentionally?”

“Well there was this one time with a dragon, and he tried to escape, and I jumped on him but he kept going…”

Freya laughed, clapping her on the back. “Have I mentioned I like you, lass?”

Bella smiled at her. “I won’t get tired of hearing it.”

“So I’m probably not in safer company now than I was before, am I?” Able asked with a slight hint of amusement.

Haruka smirked at him, shaking her head. “You’re probably worse off. Sorry, but we have
terrible
luck.”

“Terrible?!” Freya looked at her oddly. “It’s excitement! Adventure! Grand experiences!”

Isabella laughed. “I think Haruka and I would both like at least a break from so much excitement.”

“Bah. Couples; I’ll never understand ‘em.”

“Maybe they just have common sense,” Able suggested.

“You sayin’ I’m crazy?! I mean, I
am
, but are you
sayin
’ it?”

“No.”

“Good.”

“
Now
it’s what I’m saying.”

“Well
excuse me
for livin’! I ain’t never gonna understand wantin’ a borin’ life, neither!”

Isabella didn’t expect her to, and it didn’t matter. She turned back around and folded her arms on the railing, watching the clouds pass by with a smile as she listened to Freya and Able debate whether or not endless danger was a good thing. She was still tired, but it didn’t seem to matter
as much anymore; right now she felt more lazy than anything, and that she had time to be tired. She could rest a bit later; right now she just wanted to enjoy the moment. She felt Haruka’s hand on her waist and looked up to see the monk studying her. “You’re happy,” the brunette stated.

“It’s hard not to be,” Bella responded. “All of us made it; I was scared we wouldn’t, but we did.”

“We worked together.” Haruka looked over the side. “It’s different not doing everything by yourself, isn’t it?”

“It is…” Bella sighed. “And it’s so much better.”

Haruka looked at her. “By the way, you owe me a kiss. We’re done fighting zombies.”

Isabella laughed. “I guess I did say that, didn’t I? Well, I can’t have outstanding debt.” She reached behind Haruka’s neck and pulled her down into a fierce kiss that lasted much longer than the monk had been expecting.

It deepened before it finally ended a full minute later, and she blinked as Bella pulled back. “Wow.”

Bella smiled, leaning into her as she looked back over the side. “That won’t be the last.”

“I
hope
not.”

Bella looked up at her with an expression of love and contentment. “I owe you a lot more than that.”

“You’re really… very good at this.”

“I have to be. You’re a challenge.”

Isabella groaned, falling face-first on the bed. Haruka laughed softly, setting a hand on her hip. “Very graceful.”

“Shush.” Bella turned over, blinking up at her. “Aren’t you tired?”

“Sure, but I don’t need to sleep yet.”

“Oh, okay.” Isabella slipped under the sheets, laying her head on the pillow but staring at the ceiling.

Haruka smirked a little, folding her arms and tilting her head. “Want me to keep you company?”

“Well, I mean, if you
want
to…”

Haruka chuckled, sitting on the bed and leaning against the wall. Bella happily shifted over and laid her head in Haruka’s lap, closing her eyes and sighing in contentment as the monk gently stroked her hair. “You’re cute when you’re tired, you know.”

“I’m
always
cute,” Isabella mumbled, getting another laugh from Haruka.

“True.” She smiled, watching Bella fall asleep. She went quickly, exhausted as she was. It made Haruka worry, but still she was happy in this moment. It wasn’t something she’d ever seen coming; this whole situation was a surprise, in fact. It was an odd feeling that she hadn’t even heard of Isabella a month ago, but now any other life than this one seemed odd and, somehow, wrong. Things had changed so much so fast that her life seemed unrecognizable.

It had her worried for the future, but she knew she couldn’t think about the end. She had no idea what her life would be like after Bella was gone, but focusing on that would only drive her insane and prevent her from enjoying life as it was now. She would just have to focus on the present and not deal with the end until it came. Looking down at the woman sleeping against her, she hoped it wouldn’t come for a long, long time.

IXH

Freya sat back in her office’s chair, watching the young man that sat across from her. Able was an odd one with a lot of mystery surrounding him, but then, Freya herself was pretty unknown to most people. Still, the young man wasn’t able to explain nearly enough to satisfy her. His appearance was unusual at best and suspicious at worst, though she didn’t really think he was an enemy. No, in fact, she fully believed what he said. The thing that made her buy his story was his manner; he was frustrated by what he couldn’t explain or remember, and he seemed more annoyed by his situation than anyone.

Freya crossed her legs, tilting her head questioningly. “Y’ smoke? Drink?”

Able stopped inspecting the many things in her office to look at her. “I suppose I could use a drink.”

“Atta boy.” Freya yanked open a drawer and pulled out a bottle and a glass, filling the glass before passing it over to him.

He took the glass and sniffed it once before taking a drink. He immediately began coughing, holding the glass away from him and glaring at it like an enemy. “What the hell
is
this?”

Freya grinned. “Grog. I thought y’ might like somethin’ strong after th’ day you’ve ‘ad. Drink it down, puts hair on yer chest.” She winked at him before taking a large gulp herself.

Able eyed her warily across the desk. “So how much hair do you have on yours?”

Freya set down the bottle, leaning forward and smiling darkly. “You really wanna go there?”

“Probably not…” He swirled the glass around a bit before draining all of it at once, giving a shudder afterwards as he slammed the glass down on the desk.

Freya laughed, slapping the desk. “I knew I liked you! That took guts. It was a terrible idea an’ yer gonna find out why in a few minutes ‘ere, but still, took guts.”

Able smirked, leaning back in his seat. “I’ll be alright. So what did you wanna talk about?”

“Well, I…” They looked over as someone knocked on the door. “It ain’t locked!” Haruka stepped in, closing the door behind her. “Ah, Ruka. I thought you’d be with Bella?”

Haruka smiled. “She fell asleep about an hour ago. I’m going to go back, but I want to make sure I know what’s going on first.”

“Ah, great, great! Well, take a seat.”

Able watched her as she sat down. “Is she alright?”

“Bella?” Haruka leaned back, folding her arms. “She’s just tired. Tonight took a lot out of all of us, I think.”

“Aye, you’re right about that,” Freya added, leaning forward on her elbows. “It was a bad situation, but we all got out.”

Haruka glanced at Able. “Thanks to you in no small part.”

Able shrugged. “I’d have died if I was alone, as I was before. As far as I’m concerned you saved
me
.”

“Well, let’s talk about that.” Freya clasped her hands. “Yer a strange kid. You’re missin’ a lotta mem’ries, right?”

Able met her eyes, nodding. “I don’t remember a lot of things, including how I got on that ship or where I got my powers. Basically, I don’t know a big chunk of the first part of my life, and after that there’s a bunch of random gaps, just like the one before I was on the ship.”

Haruka tilted her head. “That doesn’t sound like repression. Do you think it might be some form of severe dissociative identity disorder?”

He shrugged. “Maybe. Or maybe I’m being jumped through time. Or, maybe I just forget things. I don’t even know if it’s complicated or mundane.”

“You always travel alone?” Freya asked, rubbing her chin in thought as he nodded. “Maybe if you ‘ad someone with you when it ‘appened they could tell you.”

“Are you volunteering?”

“D’ you wanna be a pirate?”

“Not really?”

“Then I ain’t an option.” She leaned back, glancing at Haruka. “But… You could go t’ my nephew. You’d make a good mercenary.”

Able glanced between them. “What kind of mercenary?”

“Oh, not a bad one. It’s an army. Ruka an’ Bella are goin’ that way.”

Haruka nodded. “You could come with us. I know for a fact Bella wouldn’t mind. You should know, though, that we’re being hunted by the Black Sun.”

Able studied her for a long moment before shrugging and leaning back. “Sounds like
more
reason for me to go with you.”

Freya smiled. “Really do like you, kid.”

Haruka tilted her head. “You want to help us?”

“I have nothing else to do.”

“Well… I will appreciate you helping to keep Bella safe.” Haruka stood up. “Since plans are set, I’m going back to her. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

They bid her goodnight as she left, then Freya turned to Able. “Those girls… I’ve kinda gotten attached to ‘em. They got enough problems; you be sure to keep ‘em safe, alright?”

Able met her gaze seriously. “I’ll do my best.”

IXH

Haruka slipped back into the room, quietly shutting the door. Her brow knit in concern as soon as she entered and heard Bella crying. She was about to ask what was wrong before she realized the woman was still asleep and her expression saddened. Haruka hadn’t seen her experiencing a nightmare before, but she’d figured she suffered a lot of them after the life she’d had. And here was proof; tears were visible even in the dark room, and Bella was curled up and clenching the sheets with something close to ferocity even though soft whimpers came from her.

Not wanting to wake and embarrass her, Haruka removed her mask, jacket, gloves and boots and carefully slid into the bed, cautious not to make any noise. She then gathered Bella into her arms, sighing as the other woman instantly released the sheets and gripped her instead. She stroked her back gently enough to avoid waking her, whispering, “I’m here.” Soon Isabella calmed down and returned to a calmer sleep, leaving Haruka relieved. The monk laid her head back on the pillow, leaving Bella’s head on her chest as she continued the movements of her fingers on her back.

“Damaged” seemed to be an adequate description of her friend. Mentally, emotionally, physically; she just couldn’t catch a break.
How much is she hiding?
Haruka thought to herself as she stared at the ceiling in the dark.
How much does she keep to herself to avoid worrying me? What if it’s because there are things she knows I can’t fix?
She sighed, closing her eyes and letting the weight of Bella’s body comfort her. She would ask later, make sure she was being let in on everything. They didn’t have a lot of time, after all. Her thoughts continued along the same lines until she fell asleep a few minutes later, and her mind was dominated by something else…

IXH

Haruka’s Dream

Her eyes shot open at the sound of a scream. Adrenaline flowed through her veins as she looked around, but there was no immediate danger visible. She pushed herself off the wooden floor and inspected her surroundings, finding she was in a small house. It wasn’t an impressive abode but one owned by people of meager means. The furniture was obviously self-made, not fancy but serviceable. The home was clean enough and had a couple pieces of decoration that seemed moderately expensive which were displayed proudly, likely family heirlooms as the poor weren’t able to make such extravagant purchases.

Following sounds coming from the next room, Haruka went through the doorway to see the four people who presumably owned the home huddling together against a wall. It was a family as she’d expected; a slightly older father, a middle-aged mother, a young daughter and an even younger son, barely a toddler. The young boy was clutched in his mother’s arms while the girl gripped her father’s leg as his hand rested protectively on her head. The little boy cried and hid his face while the other three stared with fear at the opposite wall.